Sheet-metal can.



No. 746,815. x X PATENTED DB6; 15, 1963.

n. GHIRAR'DBLLI.

SHEET METAL CAN.

APPLIGATLOH FILED nom'zs. 1902.

UNITED STATES Patented December 15, 1903.

FFICE.

SHEET- METAL CAN.

srncirrcn'rrolv formingpart of Letters Patent no. 746,815, dated'neeemberis, 1903. Application filed November 25,1902. Serial No. 132.7?8. (Nu model.)

To air, whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DOMINGO GHIRARDELLI,

acitizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the countyof San Francisco and State of California, have invented cerrain new anduseful Improvements in Sheet Metal Cans, of which the followingis aspecification.

can for holding ground substances, such as chocolate or coffee, whichshall be sealed her-' metically without a solder-joint and which willpreserve the material contained during comparatively long periods ofstorage, shipment, and transportation.

A further object is to provide the can or receptacle with means forreceiving a slipcover independently of the hermetic inside joint, theWhole, forming a can-body seamed with an inside closure, but having atthe same time means for receiving a removable slip-cover. is that thefinal consumer or purchaser of the can can remove the slip-cover andhermetic-sealing cover in order to obtain access to the contents of thecan and can then remove and replace the slip-cover at will while thecontents of the can are being used. Thus the quality of the contents ofthe can is preserved during storage and transportation, while without asoldered joint the can is rendered convenient to the user of smallquantities at a time.

An embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 represents an elevation of a can constructed accordingto my invention, but

having theslip-cover broken away. Fig. 2

is a vertical section of the can with the inside hermetic closure andthe slip-cover detached. Fig. 3 is a top plan of the completely-closedcanwith the slip-cover broken away in order to show theinner hermeticjoint.

The can body 1 is a cylindrical hollow structure of sheet metal formedinany suitable way and on any suitable machine and side-seamed in anypreferred manner. The making of such a body is well known in the art andforms no part of my invention. The body, near the top, is preferablyformed with The result of this construction" an external head 2, whichadds to the appearance of the can and also forms a stop for theslip-cover 3. Within the can-body and near the top is seamed a plate ordisk 4, of thin sheet'metal, which forms a'hermetic internal closure forthe can. By terming the material of this disk at thin sheet metal Imean' metal which is thin relatively to the metal of which the body isformed, such as. taggers tin, which is less than half and sometimes lessthan one-third as thick as the body metal. This enables the disk to beeasily opened by cutting.

The parts of'the can may be assembled and secured in any suitable way.In practice a mandrel is introduced into the open bottom of thecan-body. Then by a suitable seaming-tool the upper edge of the can-bodyand the edge 'ofthe disk 4 are inturned and doubleseamcd and squeezedtogether, Fig. 2, so as to make a hermetic joint 5, in which no solderis used. The open bottom of the can now becomes the filling-opening, andthe contents of the can are suppliedthrough such opening. Then by anyusual or preferred mechanical arrangement the bottom 6 is double-seamed,

preferably outwardly to the can-body. -I now have a can closed at topand bottom and with its contents hermetically sealed at both ends bydouble-seamed joints only andwithout solder; but above the head 2 on theexterior of the can is a smooth exterior surface 7, which receives theslip-cover 8. When this slipcover is in place, it fits smoothly thesurface 7 above the bead and can be removed from and replaced upon suchsurface. It will have been understood from the foregoing descriptionthat the can with its contents is closed at the bottom by adouble-seamed joint and is also closed at the top by anotherdouble-seamed joint between the can-body and the thin disk 4, thecontents of the can being held in the intermediate space. The can iscompleted by placing in position the slipcover, so that the completedpackage is as shown in Fig. 1. In this condition the can is fitted forshipment and storage, because the integrityof its contents does notdepend upon the slip-cover, but upon the double-seamed joints at thebottom and at the top below such slip-cover. These are not solderedjoints, and no solder need be used in making up the package. It isassumed that the contents of the can are of a kind which will be used bydegrees, such as ground chocolate or ground coffee. Consequently whenthe package comes into the possession of the final consumer he receivesit hermetically sealed and in a can of such construction as will enablehim to use it by degrees in the manner in which such substances areordinarily used. The consumer can remove the slip-cover, can cut out thedisk 4 with an ordinary can-opener or knife, and can then extract thecontents of the can according to his necessities. The slip-cover canalways be replaced upon the top of the can, since the cutting out of thedisk 4 in no wayinterferes with the seating of such slip-cover.

The advantages of this device lie in the fact that it provides a packagehermetically closed for shipment and storage, but provided also with anadditional slip cover, whereby after the breaking of the hermeticclosure the final consumer can use the contents as his necessities mayrequire.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A sheet-metal can com prising a substantially cylindrical can-bodyhaving an externally-formed bead adjacent toits upper end, a cover ofrelatively thin metalinwardly double-seamed with the extreme upper edgeof said can-body so as to leave a smooth exterior surface between saidhead and said extreme upper edge and a slip-cover adapted to fit saidsmooth exterior surface.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a can and a closure therefor,comprising a can-body of substantially the same diameter at both endsand having an external bead near one end, a relatively thin sheet-metaldisk for closing the can, double-seamed directly with theinwardly-turned upper edge of the can body, whereby a smooth cylindricalsurface is left between said upper edge and said head, and aslip-coverfittingsaid smooth cylindrical surface.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses, this 14th day of November, 1902.

DOMINGO GHIRARDELLI.

Witnesses:

L. W. SEELY, F. M. BURT.

